Nederlandse Dansdagen announces 2024 programme

Announcing programme!

The Nederlandse Dansdagen will take place in Maastricht for the 27th time this year. From 4 to 10 October, the celebration of Dutch dance will again be in full swing. With grandmasters and up-and-coming talent, from established performances to exciting premieres.

Nominees

The festival opens with the Nederlandse Dansdagen Gala, where the country's leading dance awards will be presented, including the prestigious Swans and Young Swans from the VSCD. Many of the nominated dancers or performances can be seen during the festival itself. Such as Hoop! (12+), Wies Bloemen's farewell performance for Danstheater AYA, nominated for the Swan most impressive youth dance production and performance. But also the poetic-acrobatic Tipping Point (Pia Meuthen/Panama Pictures), with among others Tarek Rammo, and the philosophical performance Khôra (Astrid Boons), in which Mathilde Tommasini dances, can be admired during the festival. 

Three premieres 

It also looks ahead to the new season, with the following premieres:

• In Alphabets of Flesh Roshanak Morrowatian and Mami Izumi depict the fragmented experience of people who have left their homeland. Using dance, language, music and video art, the performance creates a temporary (t)home where differences are embraced and uprooting is a source of strength. On show from 4 to 6 October at AINSI and on 10 October in a special version at the Bonnefanten Museum, among artworks by Polish artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas.
• Artistic director Conny Janssen, in collaboration with Dansateliers and Korzo, selects three exceptional talents each edition. In DANSLOKAAL 12 these are Bas van der Kruk, Sarada Sarita and Charlie Skuy. The result is a surprising performance with three new works, featuring the dancers of Conny Janssen Danst. Try-out 4 October, premiere 5 October, on location Kumulus. 
• Winner of the Innovation Award Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht 2023, Junadry Leocaria, shows the autobiographical duet Mi Pret'i Wowo (The apple of my eye). As research, the choreographer travelled with her father - who was a professional dancer - to Nigeria, the country where some of her roots lie. Premiere 5 October, also to be seen 6 October.   

State of Dutch Dance

Nederlandse Dansdagen aims to showcase the breadth and quality of the dance field. From this position, the festival is very concerned about the recent opinions of the Council for Culture (Ministry of OCW) and the Performing Arts Fund. During the festival, attention will therefore be paid to this worrying development and its impact on the dance world in various ways and moments. 
 
This year's ‘State of Dutch Dance’ is an article, resulting from a conversation between five journalists and dance experts in the cultural sector. On 1 October it will be published on the Dutch Dance Days site and on 4 October the conversation will continue with the sector during the Debate of Dutch Dance. The theme this year is - how could it be otherwise - the state of affairs after the last subsidy round. 

De Nederlandse Dansdagen will take place from Friday 4 to Thursday 10 October 2024. Ticket sales for the entire programme will start on Saturday 31 August via nederlandsedansdagen.nl.